Survival of the Fittest
''Survival of the Fittest ''is the sixteenth episode of the first season of the Kanto segment of To Be The Best. Plot Declan, with Pikachu on his shoulder, is at the counter in the pokemon center, talking to Nurse Joy. Narrator: After a crushing defeat at the hands of Lt. Surge, Declan needs Nurse Joy’s assistance in training Pikachu for the rematch! How will his training impact the battle later today? Declan, blushing: I was wondering if, uh, there was any way to access the footage from my gym battle with Lt. Surge yester- Nurse Joy: Of course! Every official gym challenge is professionally recorded by hidden cameras! Allow me to send you the footage from your challenge! Declan, relieved: Oh, thank you. Nurse Joy: Of course! (She begins to type on her computer) Your name is Declan, correct? Declan: Yes, uh, Declan Perez. Nurse Joy, with eyes on her computer: Well, I must say, you’re making incredible progress. Declan: Really? Nurse Joy: Well, you have two badges after only a little over a month of travelling! Terrific progress! Declan: Oh, uh, thank you! Nurse Joy: My pleasure! And if you check your pokedex, you’ll find your battle from yesterday in ultra HD! Declan: I appreciate it, Nurse Joy. Have a good day. Nurse: You as well! Declan walks away, but quickly turns back. Declan: Is there any way I could rent one of the indoor training rooms? Nurse Joy: Of course! For how long? Declan: How much per hour? Nurse Joy: 1500 pokedollars! Declan, sheepishly: Until one this afternoon, please. Nurse Joy: Of course! That’ll be 6000 pokedollars! Declan grimaces before handing her his Trainer Card. She swipes it in her computer before handing it back, smiling. Nurse Joy: It’s just down that hallway, fourth door to the left. Declan nods and walks off. Declan swipes his card in a key slot, opening the door. He walks into a large room, resembling a gym. Declan notices a large touch-screen desk surface. He walks over to it, piquing Pikachu’s interest. Pikachu runs over and taps the surface, revealing an expansive holographic interface. Curiously, Declan taps one of the options, labelled “flock”. The hologram expands into several sub-options, including Pidgey, Spearow, Tailow, Starly, and Zubat. Declan hesitantly taps Spearow. A loud “caw” is heard, and Declan and Pikachu turns to see that a large flock of Spearow, seemingly made of golden pixelated energy, circling overhead. The faux pokemon lock onto Pikachu and begin to swarm him. Declan: Thunderbolt! Pikachu unleashes a powerful Thunderbolt, which destroys Spearows on impact. They dissolve into tiny golden cubes, which fade away. The remaining Spearows readjust their formation before attempting to divebomb Pikachu again. However, Pikachu quickly eliminates the remaining holograms with a quick Thunderbolt. Declan: Good job, Pikachu! Pikachu: Pika! Declan: This room is pretty cool. I’d like to train here with the other three… (He turns to Pikachu) but for now, we have our rematch with Lt. Surge to worry about. Pikachu: Chu. Declan: I’ve been thinking about something. Surge focuses a lot on brute strength, which works for him, but we don’t have a lot of that- Pikachu interrupts by flexing his arms, cheeks sparking. Declan laughs. Declan: You’re ridiculous. But you know what I mean. Ideally, we’d all be training to combine strength with strategy, but we don’t have the time. So for today’s match, we’ll be focusing on strategy, ‘cause it’s gotten us this far. Aaaand, we have a professional recording of yesterday’s battle. We’re going to win today. Pikachu yelps excitedly. Declan snickers and pulls out his pokedex. He sets it on the interface and begins to type, sometimes switching between the pokedex and the interface. Declan: And… there. Him and Pikachu look up to see the footage of Bulbasaur and Jolteon fighting projected onto a large wall. The battle is shot from several camera angles, ranging from high above the field to directly under the pokemon. Declan grins as he fast forwards through the video, finding Pikachu and Raichu’s showdown. Declan: Alright, Pikachu, watch this battle closely. I want you to pay attention to Raichu. Pikachu nods. They watch the battle intensely, eyes gleaming. When it ends, Pikachu’s ears droop. Declan: I know, but it was just one battle. It won’t happen again. Pikachu’s ears perk back up, and he smiles. Declan: Alright, did you notice anything about Raichu? Pikachu nods, and his cheeks start to spark. Declan: Exactly! The static was building every time it attacked. I have a theory that it was building up electricity and saving it for Thunderbolt, which is how it was so powerful. Pikachu nods, beginning to understand. Declan, grinning: All that static must be pretty volatile. Pikachu nods in understanding. Declan: Then I have a plan. Let’s train. Pikachu cheers. Declan and Pikachu face off against Lt. Surge and Raichu from across the battlefield. Declan has a faint smirk, but Surge’s is wide. Raichu’s cheeks spark, causing Declan and Pikachu to share a look. Referee: This will be a one-on-one battle between Lt. Surge’s Raichu and Declan’s Pikachu! The battle will be over when one pokemon is unable to continue! Begin! Declan: Alright, Quick Attack! Lt. Surge: Going on the offensive, are we? Mega Kick! Pikachu sprints towards Raichu, a streak of energy following him. Raichu attempts to kick him, but Pikachu jumps clean over it, surprising the pokemon. Declan: Circle it! Pikachu keeps up Quick Attack, running in a wide circle around Raichu. Eventually, this creates a weak funnel of dust, as well as Pikachu “clones”. Lt. Surge grits his teeth, frustrated. Lt. Surge: Signal Beam! Declan: Iron Tail! Raichu, unsure of itself, fires a pink beam of energy towards Pikachu. However, while running, Pikachu deflects it with Iron Tail. The beam is deflected between several points of the circle before hitting Raichu. Raichu’s cheeks spark. Lt. Surge, angry: Raichu! Do something! Raichu, nervous, begins to charge Focus Punch on its right arm, collecting orange energy. Its cheeks spark. Pikachu continues to run, the circle creating a blur of yellow and sand. Declan: Keep it up, Pikachu! We’re almost there! Lt. Surge: Focus Punch! Raichu attempts to punch Pikachu and break the circle, but Pikachu dashes out of the way, whipping up winds and causing Raichu to punch the ground. Declan: Alright, it’s all or nothing. Quick Attack, to Thunderbolt! Lt. Surge gasps as Pikachu, quick as a lightning bolt, dashes towards Raichu. Right before he makes contact, he jumps and unleashes and supercharged Thunderbolt. Upon contact with Raichu, the Thunderbolt reacts with Raichu’s built-up static and gives off a bright yellow light before exploding. When the smokes clears, Pikachu is on four legs in front of Declan, obviously exhausted. And Raichu is knocked out, unable to go on. Referee: Raichu is unable to battle! Pikachu is the winner! Declan cheers, causing Pikachu to smile. Lt. Surge gruffly returns Raichu and crosses the field, admiring the damage. Finally, Lt. Surge reaches Declan and extends his hand. Declan shakes it proudly. Lt. Surge: You did better than expected, kid. Definitely threw me for a loop. That Pikachu of yours is fast, maybe even faster than Raichu. ‘Course, it’s still a runt. (He snickers) But if you ever feel like a rematch, just swing back on by. I’ll be sure to have my strongest team ready. Declan, nodding: Thank you. I’ll be sure to give it my all. Lt. Surge: ‘Course you will. Just need more manpower, er, pokemon-power. Pure strength. But I’m not here to lecture you. I’m here to give you this. (He holds out his hand, revealing a small token resembling a sun) The Thunder Badge. It may have taken you two tries, but that’s to be expected from a kid like you. Declan accepts the badge sheepishly and puts it in his case. Declan: Thank you for allowing me a rematch. Next time, we’ll only need one try, though. Lt. Surge, laughing: We’ll see about that, squirt. Declan grins as Lt. Surge walks back across the battlefield and disappears into the building. Pikachu lazily jumps onto Declan’s shoulder. Declan grins and admires the badge, gleaming next to the Boulder and Cascade Badges. Declan, quietly: Three down, five to go. He silently walks out of the gym, grin on his face and Pikachu on his shoulder. Major Events * Declan first uses the pokemon center training rooms. * Declan defeats Lt. Surge and receives the Thunder Badge. Characters * Declan Perez * Nurse Joy * Lt. Surge * Referee Pokemon * Pikachu (Declan's) * Raichu (Lt. Surge's) Trivia * This episode has hinted towards the weight of a pokedollar when compared to USD. 1 USD is equal to 100 pokedollars, meaning 1500 pokedollars is 15 USD. * The training room was inspired by the training room from the Hunger Games franchise, specifically the holographic Spearow resembling the training holograms from Catching Fire. * Raichu's cheeks sparking were written into the last episode to set up for this episode. * This is the first episode since their debut that Declan's Bulbasaur and Squirtle did not appear. Category:Episodes Category:To Be The Best Category:OmniDragon